


Space Tomatillos

by battle_goats



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Accidental Confession, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 09:37:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13292100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/battle_goats/pseuds/battle_goats
Summary: Lance is worried about the amount of time Hunk and Keith are spending together.  It turns out he didn’t have to worry at all.





	Space Tomatillos

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Aphelion Zine. I'm so proud of this work and I'm happy to finally share it.

Lance couldn’t help but notice the change.

And it’s not that all changes were bad!  Just.  This was just one more in an ever-growing list of them.

Ever since Hunk and Keith had returned from their mission to the Weblum, they’d been spending more of their down time together.  Mostly talking quietly, but also with just them sitting in completely silence.  Lance didn’t really get it, but it made him nervous.  He wasn’t jealous.  At all.  He most certainly was not.  He wasn’t the jealous type.  He wasn’t, really.

But he didn’t like that Keith was taking up all of Hunk’s time.  Lance hardly had a chance to spend any time with Hunk, because Keith was always there.  It wasn’t has if Lance and Hunk were anything more than friends.  Because they weren’t.

Lance wanted to be - oh how he wanted to be.  Except now Hunk hardly ever just hung out with Lance.  No, Keith was there.  All the time.  Too much time.  He had no right to dictate who Hunk spent his time with.  But he just wished a little more of it was with him.

Lance had wandered into the kitchen, hoping to catch Hunk in his down time, trying to bake.  Lance only called it “trying” because nearly every food ingredient was completely foreign to them.  Even if it looked familiar, or even smelled familiar, it usually wasn’t what they hoped it would be.

Hunk was staring at something leavy and purple that looked like kale.  If kale was purple.

“Hey Hunk, watcha up to?” Lance asked.  He hopped up onto one of the stools next to the counter and looked over everything.  The Blade of Marmora had been accommodating and provided some kind of protein rations they could use.  They’d been fine on the food goo, but apparently Keith’s physiology required meat, and lots of it.  Plus now, with Galra on board the castle ship, it was easier to just make a ton of food for everyone.  Or so Hunk said.

“I’m just trying to figure out how to cook any of this so it’s edible for everyone.” Hunk was cutting up something that was eggplant shaped, but not eggplant colored.  Lance reached into the nearest bowl and picked up some kind of veggie.  It reminded him of tomatillos, if they were orange rather than green.  Even the husk was orange.

“Need a hand?” Lance asked?

“Sure if you don’t mind.” Hunk smiled as he agreed, and Lance was sure his insides were melting just a little bit.  Lance might have been a flirt, but Hunk was the only person he’d say he’d ever been in love with.  And as far as he was concerned, Hunk wouldn’t ever know.  There was no reason to compromise the friendship they’d built together.

Lance jumped off the stool and walked around the counter to stand next to Hunk.  He was handed the bowl of not-tomatillos.

“Take off the peel and rinse those off.  Then put them on one of the baking trays to roast.”

“You got it,” Lance chirped as he moved to comply.  The papery husk on the not-totmatillos came off easily, and the outside of the flesh of the vegetable was slightly tacky, just like tomatillos.  Maybe they actually were space tomatillos.

“Hey Lance?” Hunk began.  He sounded nervous and a little hesitant, in the way that mean that Hunk wasn’t sure how Lance would receive whatever question was about to be asked.

“Hm?” he hummed.  Might as well sound casual and calm.  The tension in Hunk’s shoulders eased just a little bit.

“So, I’ve noticed you haven’t been around as much.  I see you at meals, and team meetings and drills.  But we haven’t done something like this for a while.” Lance could feel Hunk’s eyes on him.  His gaze heavy and expectant.  It made Lance’s stomach twist with anxiety.  Lance took a second.  How could he possibly explain this without giving up the game?  He was far from ready to say it.  The very thought of telling Hunk how he felt terrified him beyond anything they’d faced so far.  And Lance had nearly died already.

“Uh, well, it’s hardly ever just us anymore, you know?  The castle is huge, but there’s always someone else around,” he finally said.  He really hoped he sounded chill enough and not at all upset.  Lance changed a quick glance over at Hunk, and oh boy, oh boy.  Hunk saw through through him.  Of course he did.

That was probably the worst thing about being in love with your best friend.  Couldn’t get shit past them, no matter what.

“Lance, you’re my best friend.  But we’re all a team now, and, well, Keith has been pretty isolated since the whole Galra thing happened, you know?  Allura certainly wasn’t helping and, you know how I am.  I’m a friendly guy, and I just wanna make sure he feels included.”

Lance’s hands shook and the twist in his gut tightened with shame.  God, did Lance feel like a piece of shit.  He felt like a complete asshole, the biggest tool in the universe.  Because Hunk was right.  Keith had really only ever had Shiro, and the team had been shocked at best, by the reveal of Keith’s Galra heritage.

“I know, Hunk.  I’m sorry,” Lance said.  His voice was quiet as he arranged the vegetables on the baking tray.  Hunk leaned over and nudged him.  Lance blinked up at him in surprise.

“I get it man, I do.  You’re pretty used to basically having me to yourself unless I’m with Pidge.” Hunk gave him another smile.  Lance felt relieved, knowing that Hunk wasn’t abandoning him for Keith.  He felt shitty for even thinking it.  But he knew he could work on that.

They continued to work on dinner together.  Vegetables were cooked or chopped up for a salad, and they both offered a prayer as they cooked the protein.  They were cooking for a lot more people now, and it took a while, but soon the meal was complete and they set the table.

“Okay, we can call everyone down now,” Hunk said.  Lance excitedly stood next to the panel of buttons set on the wall next to the dining room door.

“I’m so glad Coran installed this thing,” Lance declared as he pushed the large blue button on the panel.  A tinny alarm began to ring throughout the ship, staying on for a full thirty ticks before shutting off.  Lance and Hunk waited as everyone else began to trickle in.

Shiro and Princess Allura came in together, talking quietly.  Just behind them was Coran and a few of the Blades.  Keith trailed in a few minutes later.  He seemed to pause by the door before continuing and sitting down across from Shiro.  Pidge eventually appeared and sat down, too.  Lance noticed that the only empty seats were the two on Keith’s right.  He quickly sat down, forcing Hunk to sit on his other side.  Lance had said he’d try, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t  be just a little petty for today.

The meal began and Lance dug in hungrily.  He’d held back from sneaking tastes of everything while cooking, and he was starving as a result.  He glanced over and saw that Keith had loaded his plate with protein, much as the other Galra had.  Lance ate quietly, too hungry to care for conversation.  It was probably the quietest he’d ever been at a meal, but for some reason the atmosphere at the table was subdued.  All of the Blades ate in silence, with only their leader speaking to Coran and Allura.  Shiro interjected on occasion.  Pidge was more interested in something on their tablet screen to make conversation.  And Keith and Hunk were just as quiet as he was.

When dinner concluded, Shiro volunteered Pidge and Keith to wash the dishes.  There was complaining about Lance not helping until Hunk announced that Lance had helped cook dinner.  This got a surprised look from some.

“What?  I come from a big family, I’ve been helping make dinner since I was eight,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll never be as good as Hunk, but it’s not like I’m incapable.”

When Lance looked over at Hunk, he noted his friend was blushing.  Brightly.  Certainly enough for it to be visible on his darker skin.  Hunk was hardly ever bashful about his cooking, so why would he react like that now?  It was a mystery to Lance, but he gleefully stood up from the table.  Maybe he would help with dinner more often it if mean getting out of cleaning, and as a bonus, it meant more time with Hunk.

With this plan decided, Lance wandered back to his room.  He flopped down onto his bed with a sigh.  While he got to spend more time with Hunk, way too much of it was going to be resisting the urge to grab Hunk by this apron and kissing him.  Because he thought about it all the time.  Probably too much.  Hunk was just so perfect for hugging and cuddling; Lance had no doubt he’d be great to kiss too.

For all his flirtations, Lance always made sure they would never get anywhere.  Always a little too over the top, the absolutely awful pick up lines.  All a perfected art and act, in the hopes that Hunk might return his feelings.  The only thing that kept his hopes alive was that Hunk seemed to enjoy his company best out of everyone.

Lance eventually fell asleep, thinking about what it would be like to go on a proper date with Hunk.

 

He woke to the alarm blaring.  Lance hopped out of bed and was out of his room in seconds.  Allura’s voice spoke over the ship’s intercom.

“Paladins to your Lions!” she called.  Lance turned down the corridor to get to the hangar.  He got his armor on far faster than usual and was dropped from the conveyor chute, into Blue’s hangar.  He was already inside when Blue came out of her rest mode.

“What’s up?” he asked when he heard his comm unit crackle.

“A distress beacon.  We will be dispatching the Blue and Yellow Lions to go planet-side while the others will remain in orbit.  The planet is primarily ocean, with very little land mass, and both of you have experience with these environments.  Locate the distress beacon and determine if there is in fact a threat to the local population.”

Lance sighed as he and Hunk broke away from the group and entered the atmosphere.  They cleared the clouds and found themselves overlooking a vast ocean.  In the distance, he could make out many land masses, most of which were fairly small.

“Lance, I’ve got the coordinates.  It looks like it’s coming from a small island,” Hunk said.  Lance pulled up beside Hunk.

“I’m not seeing any sign of Galra occupation.  No bases, no drones.  Nothing,” Lance said. “I smell a trap.”

“We’ll stay on guard and proceed with caution.”

The pair of lions glided through the air as they quickly approached the location.  It was barely an island: too big to be a sandbar, but so small it couldn’t have possibly supported a population of sentient beings.  As Lance slowly descended, he could see some plant life on the island, but nothing that constituted sentient life, or the technology to send a distress beacon.

“This is seriously fishy, Hunk.  I’m not seeing anything.  The beacon is being picked up, but I don’t see anything that looks like one at all,” Lance said.  He flew just a little lower.

“As much as I don’t want to, it looks like we’re going to have to get out of our Lions to do this,” Hunk suggested.  Lance sighed as soon as he heard it.

“I’ll go,” Lance volunteered.  He was already maneuvering Blue to land in the surf.

“Wait, Lance, are you sure?”

“Yeah, we’re on a planet suited to Blue.  I need you to keep a look out for me.  Give a holler if anything looks hinky.” Lance’s pilot seat rolled back and he stepped out of the cockpit and into the surf.

The water was a clear blue, and if not for the complete lack of complex life, Lance would have thought he was back on Earth.  He trundled out of the water and onto the beach.  This planet was definitely closer to its sun, and only the tint on his helmet’s visor protected his face from its harsh rays.  He kept the helmet sealed, too.  Pidge had said the air was breathable, if a bit uncomfortably for human lungs.  He walked further onto the beach.  There were still no signs of life.  Not even some kind of seagull equivalent.

“Hunk, do you read me?” he asked.  The comm units in the helmets had incredible range, but if this was a trap, he had to be sure they hadn’t already sprung it.

“Loud and clear, buddy.  See anything yet?” he asked.  Lance brought up his wrist console and watched the ping from the beacon.

“According to scanners, the beacon is maybe twenty yards from where I’d standing, but the island doesn’t look big enough for twenty yards.  I’d hit the opposite side before I got to it.”

Lance walked a little further forward.  The sand shifted beneath his feet as he scanned the horizon.

“Hey Pidge, any signs of life up there?” he asked.

“Nothing.  Nothing complex anyway.  If there is life, it’s still pretty primordial,” they said.  Lance hummed and continued on his way up the sand.  There were a few scrubby plants growing out of the sand, but were incredibly stunted and looked like they were baking under the sun’s intense rays.  He trudged over, and it took him no time at all to walk straight across the island.

“This place is a bust; there isn’t shit out here.” Lance ignored Shiro’s chiding words about his language. “I’m heading back to Blue.  Let’s get out of here.”

As Lance turned to walk towards Blue, her particle barrier rippled in the sunlight.  He paused.  That was not normal.  The sand shook beneath his feet and the island rose up in a wave, knocking Lance over and sending him rolling down the now sloping island.

The sand fell away to reveal a Galra ship.

Lance found his footing and charged for his Lion.  Blue’s particle barrier dropped and she took off for him.  A hatch opened and a drone raised a blaster to his face.  Lance’s bayard was out and raised in a moment and the rifle blasted off the done’s head.  Lance jumped for the Blue lion when she passed by close enough, and his jetpack pushed him high enough to grab hold of one of her paws.  Lance glanced down to see the Galra ship turned to fire on Blue.  She dodged with ease, but the jostling movement caused him to lose his grip, sending Lance falling with a shriek.

Right as he began to think he was dead, the Yellow Lion swooped in and he was swallowed up.  Lance landed in the cockpit with a groan.

“How you doing back there?” Hunk asked.

“I love you,” Lance proclaimed.  He sprawled out on the floor as Hunk let the retreat out of atmosphere.

“Love you too, Lance.”

 

It wasn’t until they were back in the castle ship that Lance completely registered what he’d said, and what Hunk had said.  Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, had he really said that?  Out loud?  But Hunk had said it back.  But he had to have meant it as bros.

“Will you quit it?  I can hear your existential crisis from here,” Keith snapped at him.  Lance scowled but said nothing.  Keith was staring straight ahead at where Shiro stood speaking to Allura.

“Lance is just freaking out because he finally confessed to Hunk,” Pidge said with a sly grin.  Lance grabbed them by the shoulder and slapped a hand over their mouth.

“Shut up!” he hissed.

“Lance you’re not subtle.  We all know how you feel about Hunk,” Keith said. “He’s my friend, but I’m not out to steal him from you.”

Lance followed Keith’s line of sight; he was still staring at Shiro.

“O-oh.  Okay, I’m just gonna go crawl in a hole and die now.” Lance edged his way to the door, but it slid open too soon and Lance ended up bumping into Hunk.

“Hey Lance, how you doing?” he asked.

“I-I’m great.  Just fine and dandy.” Lance blushed when Hunk continued to stare at him.  He walked around his friend and darted out the door.  Before the door closed behind him, he heard Hunk speak.

“Is something up with Lance?”

Lance didn’t stick around to hear the answer.  He jogged back to his room to change out of his armor and into his familiar denims and baseball shirt.  When his room door slid shut with a hiss, he leaned against it and just breathed.

He couldn’t believe he’d actually confessed to Hunk, inside Hunk’s Lion, while escaping from a bogus distress beacon.

“This is your life now, Lance.  Hope you’re ready to deal with it,” he said.  Lance quickly stripped out of his armor and had just pulled his pants back on when the little chime next to his door rang.

“Lance, can I come in?”

Hunk.  Lance wasn’t even completely dressed yet, but he didn’t want to leave Hunk hanging.  Didn’t want him to think he was ignoring him.  Lance did up his flu and opened the door.  He was barefoot and shirtless, but Hunk had seen him in less back at the Garrison.

“What can I do for you?” he asked.  Put on the bravado, and pretend you’re not internally screaming.

Hunk hesitated and stared, then took a deep breath, ran a hand through his hair, and squared his shoulders.  Hunk stepped forward and gently gripped Lance by the arms.  As he backed Lance against the wall, klaxons went off in Lance’s head, oh shit, oh shit, something was happening.  This was happening.  This was real, very much not a dream or a cheesy teen romance movie.

“I’m only going to say this once,” Hunk began.

Here we go, our friendship is officially over.  Keith was Hunk’s new best friend.  Lance was staring, and not breathing.  His heart was loud in his ears, and lights were too bright.  There was too much going on, and Lance wasn’t sure he could take the suspense any longer.

“I was dead serious when I said that I love you.”

Oh.  Lance.exe has stopped working.

Lance felt himself pushed further against the wall, and Hunk leaned forward and kissed him.  Lance stiffened for just a moment before he relaxed and allowed himself to lean into Hunk’s firm frame and kiss back.  The feel of Hunk’s slightly dry lips against his seemed to restart his systems.  He finally remembered to breath.

Hunk pulled away and looked at him.  His hands drifted down Lance’s arms, skittered over his own hands and came to rest on Lance’s hips.  He noticed that Hunk wasn’t wearing his gloves.  There were calluses on Hunk’s palms and the pads of his fingers.  Lance blinked.

“So was I,” Lance managed to get out.  His brain was melting out his ears with how nice that kiss had been.  It had been warm, dry, and completely chaste, but it was better than any buzzed make out Lance had experienced at teen parties.  Hunk smiled and rested his forehead against Lance’s.

“I’m glad,” Hunk whispered before he pulled Lance flush against him and dipped his head to steal another kiss.


End file.
